The L.A. Times music blog

Should you see No tonight? Yes

November 11, 2011 | 2:17
pm

Anyone passing by the Satellite on Wednesday night probably wondered what the fuss was about around 8:45 or so. A line around the block at that early hour probably means some secret Foo Fighters showcase or something, but in this instance it was a band's very first set. The group is the defiantly un-Googleable No, a new five-piece fronted by Bradley Hanan Carter, formerly of the New Zealand combo Steriogram and a recent L.A. transplant.

No is going to get a ton of the National comparisons, and for good reasons — Carter has a similar droll baritone and the band (which features Orgami Vinyl's Sean Stentz on bass) loves melancholy single-string guitar figures on its debut EP, "Don't Worry, You'll be Forever." But live, the No members season it with some gang choruses and upfront keyboards that keep singles like "Stay With Me" their own.

But to judge from the close-to-capacity crowd for a dinner-time slot on a Wednesday night, Origami might want to start looking for additional staff because we suspect some serious touring is in the band's future. For now, catch its second show tonight at a house party in Echo Park that, for the sake of the neighbors, we probably shouldn't give the address to, but should turn up pretty quickly if you head to No's Web page.